If he make himself unable to perform his
mourning
duties, that is like being unkind and unfilial.
Confucius - Book of Rites
If a guest add condiments, the host will apologise for not having had the soup prepared better.
If he swill down the sauces, the host will apologise for his poverty[1].
58.
Meat that is wet (and soft) may be divided with the teeth, but dried flesh cannot be so dealt with.
Do not bolt roast meat in large pieces.
14. 59. When they have done eating, the guests will kneel in front (of the mat), and (begin to) remove the (dishes) of rice and sauces to give them to the attendants. The host will then rise and decline this service from the guests, who will resume their seats.
15. 60. If a youth is in attendance on, and drinking with, an elder, when the (cup of) spirits is brought to him, he rises, bows, and (goes to) receive it at the place where the spirit-vase is kept. The elder refuses (to allow him to do so), when he returns to the mat, and (is prepared) to drink. The elder (meantime) lifts (his cup); but until he has emptied it, the other does not presume to drink his.
16. 61. When an elder offers a gift, neither a youth, nor one of mean, condition, presumes to decline it.
17. 62. When a fruit is given by the ruler and in his presence, if there be a kernel in it, (the receiver) should place it in his bosom[2].
[1. The sauce should be too strong to be swallowed largely and hurriedly.
2. Lest he should seem to throw away anything given by the ruler. ]
18. 63. When one is attending the ruler at a meal, and the ruler gives him anything that is left, if it be in a vessel that can be easily scoured, he does not transfer it (to another of his own); but from any other vessel he should so transfer it[1].
19. 64. Portions of (such) food should not be used as offerings (to the departed). A father should not use them in offering even to a (deceased) son, nor a husband in offering to a (deceased) wife[2].
20. 65. When one is attending an elder and (called to) share with him (at a feast), though the viands may be double (what is necessary), he should not (seek) to decline them. If he take his seat (only) as the companion of another (for whom it has been prepared), he should not decline them.
21. 66. If the soup be made with vegetables, chopsticks should be used; but not if there be no vegetables.
22. 67. He who pares a melon for the son of Heaven should divide it into four parts and then into eight, and cover them with a napkin of fine linen. For the ruler of a state, he should divide it into four parts, and cover them with a coarse napkin. To a great officer he should (present the four parts) uncovered. An inferior officer should receive it (simply) with the stalk cut away. A common man will deal with it with his teeth.
[1. A vessel of potter's ware or metal can be scoured, and the part which his mouth has touched be cleansed before the ruler uses it again.
2. The meaning of this paragraph is not clear. ]
PART IV.
1. When his father or mother is ill, (a young man) who has been capped should not use his comb, nor walk with his elbows stuck out, nor speak on idle topics, nor take his lute or cithern in hand. He should not eat of (different) meats till his taste is changed, nor drink till his looks are changed'. He should not laugh so as to show his teeth, nor be angry till he breaks forth in reviling. When the illness is gone, he may resume his former habits. 2. He who is sad and anxious should sit with his mat
[Part IV contains fifty-two paragraphs, which have been arranged in ten chapters, stating the rules to be observed in a variety of cases.
Ch. 1. 1, 2, treats of the ways of a young man who is sorrowful in consequence of the illness or death of a parent. 2. 3-26, treats of the rules in giving and receiving, and of messages connected therewith. The presentations mentioned are all from inferiors to superiors. 3. 27, 28, does not lay down rules, but gives characteristics of the superior man, and the methods by which he preserves his friendships unbroken. 4. 29, 30, refers to the arrangement of the tablets in the ancestral temple, and to the personators of the dead. 5. 31, tells how one fasting should keep himself from being excited. 6. 32-34, sets forth cautions against excess in the demonstrations of mourning. 7. 35, 36, speaks of sorrowing for the dead and condoling with the living. 8. 37, 38, gives counsels of prudence for one under the influence of sympathy and benevolent feeling. 9. 39-48, describes rules in connexion with mourning, burials, and some other occasions. 10. 49-52, describes gradations in ceremonies and in the penal statutes; and how a criminal who has been punished should never be permitted to be near the ruler.
1. Does the rule about eating mean that the anxious son should restrict himself to a single dish of meat? ]
spread apart from others; he who is mourning (for a death) should sit on a single mat[1].
2. 3. When heavy rains have fallen, one should not present fish or tortoises (to a superior)[2]. 4. He who is presenting a bird should turn its head on one side; if it be a tame bird, this need not be done. 5. He who is presenting a carriage and horses should carry in his hand (to the hall) the whip, and strap for mounting by[3]. 6. He who is presenting a suit of mail should carry the helmet (to the hall). He who is presenting a staff should hold it by its end[4]. 7. He who is presenting a captive should hold him by the right sleeve[5]. 8. He who is presenting grain unhulled should carry with him the left side of the account (of the quantity); if the hull be off, he should carry with him a measure-drum[6]. 9. He who is presenting cooked food, should carry with him the sauce and pickles for it. 10. He who is presenting fields and tenements should carry with him the writings about them, and give them up (to the superior). 11. In every case of giving a bow to another, if it be bent, the (string of) sinew should be kept upwards; but if unbent, the horn.
[1. Grief is solitary. A mourner afflicts himself.
2 Because the fish in such a case are so numerous as not to be valuable, or because the fish at the time of the rains are not clean. Other reasons for the rule have been assigned.
3. The whip and strap, carried up to the hall, represented the carriage and horses, left in the courtyard.
4. For convenience; and because the end, going into the mud, was not so honourable.
5. So that he could not attempt any violence.
6. The account was in duplicate, on the same tablet. The right was held to be the more honourable part. 'Drum' was the name of the measure. ]
(The giver) should with his right hand grasp the end of the bow, and keep his left under the middle of the back. The (parties, without regard to their rank as) high and low, (bow to each other) till the napkins (at their girdles) hang down (to the ground). If the host (wish to) bow (still lower), the other moves on one side to avoid the salutation. The host then takes the bow, standing on the left of the other. Putting his hand under that of the visitor, he lays hold of the middle of the back, having his face in the same direction as the other; and thus he receives (the bow). 12. He who is giving a sword should do so with the hilt on his left side[1]. 13. He who is giving a spear with one hook should do so with the metal end of the shaft in front, and the sharp edge behind. 14. He who is presenting one with two hooks, or one with a single hook and two sharp points, should do so with the blunt shaft in front. 15. He who is giving a stool or a staff should (first) wipe it. 16. He who is presenting a horse or a sheep should lead it with his right hand. 17. He who is presenting a dog should lead it with his left hand. 18. He who is carrying a bird (as his present of introduction) should do so with the head to the left[2]. 19. For the ornamental covering of a lamb or a goose, an embroidered cloth should be used. 20. He who receives a pearl or a piece of jade should do so with both his hands. 21. He who receives a bow or a sword should do so (having his hands covered) with his sleeves[3]. 22. He who has
[1. That the receiver may take it with his right hand.
2. Compare paragraph 4. In this case the bird was carried across the body of the donor with its head on his left.
3. A different case from that in paragraph 11. It is supposed that here the two things were presented together, and received as on a cushion. ]
drunk from a cup of jade should not (go on to) shake it out[1]. 23. Whenever friendly messages are about to be sent, with the present of a sword or bow, or of (fruit, flesh, and other things, wrapped in) matting of rushes, with grass mats, and in baskets, round and square, (the messenger) has these things (carried with him, when he goes) to receive his commission, and deports himself as when he will be discharging it[2]. 24. Whenever one is charged with a mission by his ruler, after he has received from him his orders, and (heard all) he has to say, he should not remain over the night in his house. 25. When a message from the ruler comes (to a minister), the latter should go out and bow (to the bearer), in acknowledgment of the honour of it. When the messenger is about to return, (the other) must bow to him (again), and escort him outside the gate. 26. If (a minister) send a message to his ruler, he must wear his court-robes when he communicates it to the bearer; and on his return, he must descend from the hall, to receive (the ruler's) commands.
3. 27. To acquire extensive information and remember retentively, while (at the same time) he is modest; to do earnestly what is good, and not become weary in so doing:--these are the characteristics of him whom we call the superior man. 28. A superior man does not accept everything by which another would express his joy in him, or his devotion to him[3]; and thus he preserves their friendly intercourse unbroken.
[1. Because of the risk to a thing so valuable.
2. A rehearsal of what he would have to do.
3. E. g. , it is said, festive entertainments and gi fits. ]
4. 29. A rule of propriety says, 'A superior man may carry his grandson in his arms, but not his son. ' This tells us that a grandson may be the personator of his deceased grandfather (at sacrifices), but a son cannot be so of his father[1]. 30. When a great officer or (other) officer sees one who is to personate the dead (on his way to the ancestral temple), he should dismount from his carriage to him. The ruler himself, when he recognises him, should do the same[2]. The personator (at the same time) must bow forward to the cross-bar. In mounting the carriage, he must use a stool.
5. 31. One who is fasting (in preparation for a sacrifice) should neither listen to music nor condole with mourners[3].
6. 32. According to the rules for the period of mourning (for a father), (a son) should not emaciate himself till the bones appear, nor let his seeing and hearing be affected (by his privations). He should not go up to, nor descend from, the hail by the steps on the east (which his father used), nor go in or out by the path right opposite to the (centre of the) gate. 33. According to the same rules, if he have a scab on his head, he should wash it; if he have a sore on his body, he should bathe it. If he be ill, he should drink spirits, and eat flesh, returning to his former
[1. The tablets of a father and son should not be in the same line of shrines in the ancestral temple; and the fact in the paragraph--hardly credible--seems to be mentioned as giving a reason for this.
2. The personator had for the time the dignity of the deceased whom he represented.
3. The fasting and vigil extended to seven days, and were intended to prepare for the personating duty. What would distract the mind from this must be eschewed. ]
(abstinence) when he is better.
If he make himself unable to perform his mourning duties, that is like being unkind and unfilial. 34. If he be fifty, he should not allow himself to be reduced (by his abstinence) very much; and, if he be sixty, not at all. At seventy, he will only wear the unhemmed dress of sackcloth, and will drink and eat flesh, and occupy (the usual apartment) inside (his house).
7. 35. Intercourse with the living (will be continued) in the future; intercourse with the dead (friend) was a thing of the past[1]. 36. He who knows the living should send (a message of) condolence; and he who knew the dead (a message also of his) grief. He who knows the living, and did not know the dead, will send his condolence without (that expression of) his grief; he who knew the dead, and does not know the living, will send the (expression of) grief, but not go on to condole.
8. 37. He who is condoling with one who has mourning rites in band, and is not able to assist him with a gift, should put no question about his expenditure. He who is enquiring after another that is ill, and is not able to send (anything to him), should
[1. This gives the reasons for the directions in the next paragraph. . We condole with the living--to console them; for the dead, we have only to express our grief for our own loss. P. Zottoli's translation is:--'Vivis computatur subsequens dies; mortuo computatur praecedens dies;' and he says in a note :--'Vivorum luctus incipit quarta a morte die, et praecedente die seu tertia fit mortui in feretrum depositio; luctus igitur et depositio, die intercipiuntur; haec precedit ille subsequetur. ' This is after many, critics, from Kang Khang-khang downwards; but it does great violence to the text. I have followed the view of the Khien-lung editors. ]
not ask what he would like. He who sees (a traveller), and is not able to lodge him, should not ask where he is stopping. 38. He who would confer something on another should not say, 'Come and take it;' he who would give something (to a smaller man), should not ask him what he would like.
9. 39. When one goes to a burying-ground, he should not get up on any of the graves. When assisting at an interment, one should (join in) holding the rope attached to the coffin[1]. 40. In a house of mourning, one should not laugh. 41. In order to bow to another, one should leave his own place. 42. When one sees at a distance a coffin with the corpse in it, he should not sing. When he enters among the mourners, he should not keep his arms stuck out. When eating (with others), he should not sigh. 43. When there are mourning rites in his neighbourhood, one should not accompany his pestle with his voice. When there is a body shrouded and coffined in his village, one should not sing in the lanes. 44. When going to a burying-ground, one should not sing, nor on the same day when he has wailed (with mourners). 45. When accompanying a funeral, one should not take a by-path. When taking part in the act of interment, one should not (try to) avoid mud or pools. When presenting himself at any mourning rite, one should have a sad countenance. When holding), the rope, one should not laugh, 46. When present on an occasion of joy, one should not sigh. 47. When wearing his coat of
[1. The rope here may also be that, or one of those, attached to the low car on which the coffin was drawn to the grave. Compare paragraph 45. ]
mail and helmet, one's countenance should say, 'Who dares meddle with me? ' 48. Hence the superior man is careful to maintain the proper expression of his countenance before others.
10. 49. Where the ruler of a state lays hold of the cross-bar, and bends forward to it, a great officer will descend from his carriage. Where a great officer lays bold of the bar and bends forward, another officer will descend. 50. The rules of ceremony do not go down to the common people[1]. 51. The penal statutes do not go up to great officers[2]. 52. Men who have suffered punishment should not (be allowed to) be by the side of the ruler[3].
[1. Not that the common people are altogether freed from the rules. But their occupations are engrossing, and their means small. Much cannot be expected from them.
2. It may be necessary to punish them, but they should be beyond requiring punishment. The application of it, moreover, will be modified by various considerations. But the regulation is not good.
3. To preserve the ruler from the contamination of their example, and the risk of their revenge. ]
PART V.
1. 1. A fighting chariot has no cross-board to assist its occupants in bowing; in a war chariot the
[Part V contains forty-eight paragraphs, which may be arranged in ten chapters.
Ch. 1. 1-10, relates to carriages, especially to war chariots, and the use of them with their banners and other things in an expedition. 2. 10, gives the rules in avenging the deaths of a father, brother, and friend. 3. 11, shows the responsibility of ministers and officers generally in maintaining the defence and the cultivation of their country. 4. 12-14, relates to sacrifices,--the sacrificers, their robes, the victims, &c. 5. 15-21, gives rules about avoiding the mention of certain names. 6. 22-27, is on the subject of divination,--of divining, especially, about the days for contemplated undertakings. 7. 28-33, describes the yoking the horses to a ruler's chariot, his taking his seat, and other points. 8. 34-35, is about the strap which the driver banded to parties who wished to mount the carriage. 9. 36, gives three prohibitive rules:--about a visitor's carriage; a woman riding in a carriage; and dogs and horses. 10. 37-48, relates various rules about driving out, for the ruler and people generally. ]
banner is fully displayed; in a chariot of peace it is kept folded round the pole. 2. A recorder should carry with him in his carriage his implements for writing[1]; his, subordinates the (recorded) words (of former covenants and other documents). 3. When there is water in front, the flag with the green bird[2] on it should be displayed. 4. When there is (a cloud of) dust in front, that with the screaming kites. 5. For chariots and horsemen, that with wild geese in flight[3]. 6. For a body of troops, that with a tiger's (skin). 7. For a beast of prey, that with a leopard's (skin). 8. On the march the (banner with the) Red Bird should be in front; that with the Dark Warrior behind; that with the Azure Dragon on the left; and that with the White Tiger on the right; that
[1. The original character denotes what is now used for 'pencils;' but the ordinary pencil had not yet been invented.
2. Some kind of water-bird.
3. A flock of geese maintains a regular order in flying, and was used to symbolise lines of chariots and horsemen. Khung Ying-tâ observes that chariots were used in the field before cavalry, and that the mention of horsemen here looks like the close of the Kin dynasty. One of the earliest instances of riding on horseback is in the Zo Kwan under the year B. C. 517. ]
with the Pointer of the Northern Bushel should be reared aloft (in the centre of the host):--all to excite and direct the fury (of the troops)[1]. 9. There are rules for advancing and retreating; there are the various arrangements on the left and the right, each with its (proper) officer to look after it.
2. 10. With the enemy who has slain his father, one should not live under the same heaven. With the enemy who has slain his brother, one should never have his sword to seek (to deal vengeance). With the enemy who has slain his intimate friend, one should not live in the same state (without seeking to slay him).
3. 11. Many ramparts in the country round and near (a capital) are a disgrace to its high ministers and great officers[2]. Where the wide and open country is greatly neglected and uncultivated, it is a disgrace to the officers (in charge of it).
4. 12. When taking part in a sacrifice, one should not show indifference. 13. When sacrificial robes are worn out, they should be burnt: sacrificial vessels in the same condition should be buried, as should the tortoise-shell and divining stalks, and a victim that has died. 14. All who take part with the ruler in a sacrifice must themselves remove the stands (of their offerings).
[1. 'The Red Bird' was the name of the seven constellations of the southern quarter of the Zodiac; 'the Dark Warrior' embraced those of the northern; 'the Azure Dragon,' those of the eastern; and 'the Tiger,' those of the western. These flags would show the direction of the march, and seem to suggest that all heaven was watching the progress of the expedition.
2. As showing that they had not been able to keep invaders at a distance. ]
5. 15. When the ceremony of wailing is over[1], a son should no longer speak of his deceased father by his name. The rules do not require the avoiding of names merely similar in sound to those not to be spoken. When (a parent had) a double name, the avoiding of either term (used singly) is not required. 16. While his parents (are alive), and a son is able to serve them, he should not utter the names of his grandparents; when he can no longer serve his parents (through their death), he need not avoid the names of his grandparents. 17. Names that would not be spoken (in his own family) need not be avoided (by a great officer) before his ruler; in the great officer's, however, the names proper to be sup pressed by the ruler should not be spoken. 18. In (reading) the books of poetry and history, there need be no avoiding of names, nor in writing compositions. 19. In the ancestral temple there is no such avoiding. 20. Even in his presence, a minister need not avoid the names improper to be spoken by the ruler's wife. The names to be avoided by a wife need not be unspoken outside the door of the harem. The names of parties for whom mourning is worn (only) nine months or five months are not avoided[2]. 21. When one is crossing the boundaries (of a state), he should ask what are its prohibitory laws; when he has fairly entered it, he should ask about its customs; before entering the door (of a house), he should ask about the names to be avoided in it.
[1. After the burial. Till then they would not allow themselves to think of the departed as dead.
2. As, in the first place, for uncles; and in the second, for cousins and grand-uncles. ]
6. 22. External undertakings should be commenced on the odd days, and internal on the even[1]. 23. In all cases of divining about a day, whether by the tortoise-shell or the stalks, if it be beyond the decade, it is said, 'on such and such a distant day,' and if within the decade, 'on such and such a near day. ' For matters of mourning a distant day is preferred; for festive matters a near day[2]. 24. It is said, 'For the day we depend on thee, O great Tortoise-shell, which dost give the regular indications; we depend on you, O great Divining Stalks, which give the regular indications. ' 25. Divination by the shell or the stalks should not go beyond three times. 26. The shell and the stalks should not be both used on the same subject[3]. 27. Divination by the shell is called pû; by the stalks, shih. The two were the methods by which the ancient sage kings made the people believe in seasons and days, revere spiritual beings, stand in awe of their laws and orders; the methods (also) by which they made them determine their perplexities and settle their misgivings. Hence it is said, 'If you doubted, and have consulted the stalks, you need not (any longer) think that you will do wrong. If the day (be clearly indicated), boldly do on it (what you desire to do). '
7. 28. When the ruler's carriage is about to have the horses put to it, the driver should stand before
[1. The odd days are called 'strong,' as belonging to the category of yang; the even days 'weak,' as of the category of yin.
2. 'A distant day' gave a longer period for cherishing the memory of the departed; 'a near day' was desired for festive celebrations, because at them the feeling of I respect' was supposed to predominate.
3. To reverse by the one the indication of the other. ]
them, whip in hand. 29. When they are yoked, he will inspect the linch pin, and report that the carriage is ready. 30.
14. 59. When they have done eating, the guests will kneel in front (of the mat), and (begin to) remove the (dishes) of rice and sauces to give them to the attendants. The host will then rise and decline this service from the guests, who will resume their seats.
15. 60. If a youth is in attendance on, and drinking with, an elder, when the (cup of) spirits is brought to him, he rises, bows, and (goes to) receive it at the place where the spirit-vase is kept. The elder refuses (to allow him to do so), when he returns to the mat, and (is prepared) to drink. The elder (meantime) lifts (his cup); but until he has emptied it, the other does not presume to drink his.
16. 61. When an elder offers a gift, neither a youth, nor one of mean, condition, presumes to decline it.
17. 62. When a fruit is given by the ruler and in his presence, if there be a kernel in it, (the receiver) should place it in his bosom[2].
[1. The sauce should be too strong to be swallowed largely and hurriedly.
2. Lest he should seem to throw away anything given by the ruler. ]
18. 63. When one is attending the ruler at a meal, and the ruler gives him anything that is left, if it be in a vessel that can be easily scoured, he does not transfer it (to another of his own); but from any other vessel he should so transfer it[1].
19. 64. Portions of (such) food should not be used as offerings (to the departed). A father should not use them in offering even to a (deceased) son, nor a husband in offering to a (deceased) wife[2].
20. 65. When one is attending an elder and (called to) share with him (at a feast), though the viands may be double (what is necessary), he should not (seek) to decline them. If he take his seat (only) as the companion of another (for whom it has been prepared), he should not decline them.
21. 66. If the soup be made with vegetables, chopsticks should be used; but not if there be no vegetables.
22. 67. He who pares a melon for the son of Heaven should divide it into four parts and then into eight, and cover them with a napkin of fine linen. For the ruler of a state, he should divide it into four parts, and cover them with a coarse napkin. To a great officer he should (present the four parts) uncovered. An inferior officer should receive it (simply) with the stalk cut away. A common man will deal with it with his teeth.
[1. A vessel of potter's ware or metal can be scoured, and the part which his mouth has touched be cleansed before the ruler uses it again.
2. The meaning of this paragraph is not clear. ]
PART IV.
1. When his father or mother is ill, (a young man) who has been capped should not use his comb, nor walk with his elbows stuck out, nor speak on idle topics, nor take his lute or cithern in hand. He should not eat of (different) meats till his taste is changed, nor drink till his looks are changed'. He should not laugh so as to show his teeth, nor be angry till he breaks forth in reviling. When the illness is gone, he may resume his former habits. 2. He who is sad and anxious should sit with his mat
[Part IV contains fifty-two paragraphs, which have been arranged in ten chapters, stating the rules to be observed in a variety of cases.
Ch. 1. 1, 2, treats of the ways of a young man who is sorrowful in consequence of the illness or death of a parent. 2. 3-26, treats of the rules in giving and receiving, and of messages connected therewith. The presentations mentioned are all from inferiors to superiors. 3. 27, 28, does not lay down rules, but gives characteristics of the superior man, and the methods by which he preserves his friendships unbroken. 4. 29, 30, refers to the arrangement of the tablets in the ancestral temple, and to the personators of the dead. 5. 31, tells how one fasting should keep himself from being excited. 6. 32-34, sets forth cautions against excess in the demonstrations of mourning. 7. 35, 36, speaks of sorrowing for the dead and condoling with the living. 8. 37, 38, gives counsels of prudence for one under the influence of sympathy and benevolent feeling. 9. 39-48, describes rules in connexion with mourning, burials, and some other occasions. 10. 49-52, describes gradations in ceremonies and in the penal statutes; and how a criminal who has been punished should never be permitted to be near the ruler.
1. Does the rule about eating mean that the anxious son should restrict himself to a single dish of meat? ]
spread apart from others; he who is mourning (for a death) should sit on a single mat[1].
2. 3. When heavy rains have fallen, one should not present fish or tortoises (to a superior)[2]. 4. He who is presenting a bird should turn its head on one side; if it be a tame bird, this need not be done. 5. He who is presenting a carriage and horses should carry in his hand (to the hall) the whip, and strap for mounting by[3]. 6. He who is presenting a suit of mail should carry the helmet (to the hall). He who is presenting a staff should hold it by its end[4]. 7. He who is presenting a captive should hold him by the right sleeve[5]. 8. He who is presenting grain unhulled should carry with him the left side of the account (of the quantity); if the hull be off, he should carry with him a measure-drum[6]. 9. He who is presenting cooked food, should carry with him the sauce and pickles for it. 10. He who is presenting fields and tenements should carry with him the writings about them, and give them up (to the superior). 11. In every case of giving a bow to another, if it be bent, the (string of) sinew should be kept upwards; but if unbent, the horn.
[1. Grief is solitary. A mourner afflicts himself.
2 Because the fish in such a case are so numerous as not to be valuable, or because the fish at the time of the rains are not clean. Other reasons for the rule have been assigned.
3. The whip and strap, carried up to the hall, represented the carriage and horses, left in the courtyard.
4. For convenience; and because the end, going into the mud, was not so honourable.
5. So that he could not attempt any violence.
6. The account was in duplicate, on the same tablet. The right was held to be the more honourable part. 'Drum' was the name of the measure. ]
(The giver) should with his right hand grasp the end of the bow, and keep his left under the middle of the back. The (parties, without regard to their rank as) high and low, (bow to each other) till the napkins (at their girdles) hang down (to the ground). If the host (wish to) bow (still lower), the other moves on one side to avoid the salutation. The host then takes the bow, standing on the left of the other. Putting his hand under that of the visitor, he lays hold of the middle of the back, having his face in the same direction as the other; and thus he receives (the bow). 12. He who is giving a sword should do so with the hilt on his left side[1]. 13. He who is giving a spear with one hook should do so with the metal end of the shaft in front, and the sharp edge behind. 14. He who is presenting one with two hooks, or one with a single hook and two sharp points, should do so with the blunt shaft in front. 15. He who is giving a stool or a staff should (first) wipe it. 16. He who is presenting a horse or a sheep should lead it with his right hand. 17. He who is presenting a dog should lead it with his left hand. 18. He who is carrying a bird (as his present of introduction) should do so with the head to the left[2]. 19. For the ornamental covering of a lamb or a goose, an embroidered cloth should be used. 20. He who receives a pearl or a piece of jade should do so with both his hands. 21. He who receives a bow or a sword should do so (having his hands covered) with his sleeves[3]. 22. He who has
[1. That the receiver may take it with his right hand.
2. Compare paragraph 4. In this case the bird was carried across the body of the donor with its head on his left.
3. A different case from that in paragraph 11. It is supposed that here the two things were presented together, and received as on a cushion. ]
drunk from a cup of jade should not (go on to) shake it out[1]. 23. Whenever friendly messages are about to be sent, with the present of a sword or bow, or of (fruit, flesh, and other things, wrapped in) matting of rushes, with grass mats, and in baskets, round and square, (the messenger) has these things (carried with him, when he goes) to receive his commission, and deports himself as when he will be discharging it[2]. 24. Whenever one is charged with a mission by his ruler, after he has received from him his orders, and (heard all) he has to say, he should not remain over the night in his house. 25. When a message from the ruler comes (to a minister), the latter should go out and bow (to the bearer), in acknowledgment of the honour of it. When the messenger is about to return, (the other) must bow to him (again), and escort him outside the gate. 26. If (a minister) send a message to his ruler, he must wear his court-robes when he communicates it to the bearer; and on his return, he must descend from the hall, to receive (the ruler's) commands.
3. 27. To acquire extensive information and remember retentively, while (at the same time) he is modest; to do earnestly what is good, and not become weary in so doing:--these are the characteristics of him whom we call the superior man. 28. A superior man does not accept everything by which another would express his joy in him, or his devotion to him[3]; and thus he preserves their friendly intercourse unbroken.
[1. Because of the risk to a thing so valuable.
2. A rehearsal of what he would have to do.
3. E. g. , it is said, festive entertainments and gi fits. ]
4. 29. A rule of propriety says, 'A superior man may carry his grandson in his arms, but not his son. ' This tells us that a grandson may be the personator of his deceased grandfather (at sacrifices), but a son cannot be so of his father[1]. 30. When a great officer or (other) officer sees one who is to personate the dead (on his way to the ancestral temple), he should dismount from his carriage to him. The ruler himself, when he recognises him, should do the same[2]. The personator (at the same time) must bow forward to the cross-bar. In mounting the carriage, he must use a stool.
5. 31. One who is fasting (in preparation for a sacrifice) should neither listen to music nor condole with mourners[3].
6. 32. According to the rules for the period of mourning (for a father), (a son) should not emaciate himself till the bones appear, nor let his seeing and hearing be affected (by his privations). He should not go up to, nor descend from, the hail by the steps on the east (which his father used), nor go in or out by the path right opposite to the (centre of the) gate. 33. According to the same rules, if he have a scab on his head, he should wash it; if he have a sore on his body, he should bathe it. If he be ill, he should drink spirits, and eat flesh, returning to his former
[1. The tablets of a father and son should not be in the same line of shrines in the ancestral temple; and the fact in the paragraph--hardly credible--seems to be mentioned as giving a reason for this.
2. The personator had for the time the dignity of the deceased whom he represented.
3. The fasting and vigil extended to seven days, and were intended to prepare for the personating duty. What would distract the mind from this must be eschewed. ]
(abstinence) when he is better.
If he make himself unable to perform his mourning duties, that is like being unkind and unfilial. 34. If he be fifty, he should not allow himself to be reduced (by his abstinence) very much; and, if he be sixty, not at all. At seventy, he will only wear the unhemmed dress of sackcloth, and will drink and eat flesh, and occupy (the usual apartment) inside (his house).
7. 35. Intercourse with the living (will be continued) in the future; intercourse with the dead (friend) was a thing of the past[1]. 36. He who knows the living should send (a message of) condolence; and he who knew the dead (a message also of his) grief. He who knows the living, and did not know the dead, will send his condolence without (that expression of) his grief; he who knew the dead, and does not know the living, will send the (expression of) grief, but not go on to condole.
8. 37. He who is condoling with one who has mourning rites in band, and is not able to assist him with a gift, should put no question about his expenditure. He who is enquiring after another that is ill, and is not able to send (anything to him), should
[1. This gives the reasons for the directions in the next paragraph. . We condole with the living--to console them; for the dead, we have only to express our grief for our own loss. P. Zottoli's translation is:--'Vivis computatur subsequens dies; mortuo computatur praecedens dies;' and he says in a note :--'Vivorum luctus incipit quarta a morte die, et praecedente die seu tertia fit mortui in feretrum depositio; luctus igitur et depositio, die intercipiuntur; haec precedit ille subsequetur. ' This is after many, critics, from Kang Khang-khang downwards; but it does great violence to the text. I have followed the view of the Khien-lung editors. ]
not ask what he would like. He who sees (a traveller), and is not able to lodge him, should not ask where he is stopping. 38. He who would confer something on another should not say, 'Come and take it;' he who would give something (to a smaller man), should not ask him what he would like.
9. 39. When one goes to a burying-ground, he should not get up on any of the graves. When assisting at an interment, one should (join in) holding the rope attached to the coffin[1]. 40. In a house of mourning, one should not laugh. 41. In order to bow to another, one should leave his own place. 42. When one sees at a distance a coffin with the corpse in it, he should not sing. When he enters among the mourners, he should not keep his arms stuck out. When eating (with others), he should not sigh. 43. When there are mourning rites in his neighbourhood, one should not accompany his pestle with his voice. When there is a body shrouded and coffined in his village, one should not sing in the lanes. 44. When going to a burying-ground, one should not sing, nor on the same day when he has wailed (with mourners). 45. When accompanying a funeral, one should not take a by-path. When taking part in the act of interment, one should not (try to) avoid mud or pools. When presenting himself at any mourning rite, one should have a sad countenance. When holding), the rope, one should not laugh, 46. When present on an occasion of joy, one should not sigh. 47. When wearing his coat of
[1. The rope here may also be that, or one of those, attached to the low car on which the coffin was drawn to the grave. Compare paragraph 45. ]
mail and helmet, one's countenance should say, 'Who dares meddle with me? ' 48. Hence the superior man is careful to maintain the proper expression of his countenance before others.
10. 49. Where the ruler of a state lays hold of the cross-bar, and bends forward to it, a great officer will descend from his carriage. Where a great officer lays bold of the bar and bends forward, another officer will descend. 50. The rules of ceremony do not go down to the common people[1]. 51. The penal statutes do not go up to great officers[2]. 52. Men who have suffered punishment should not (be allowed to) be by the side of the ruler[3].
[1. Not that the common people are altogether freed from the rules. But their occupations are engrossing, and their means small. Much cannot be expected from them.
2. It may be necessary to punish them, but they should be beyond requiring punishment. The application of it, moreover, will be modified by various considerations. But the regulation is not good.
3. To preserve the ruler from the contamination of their example, and the risk of their revenge. ]
PART V.
1. 1. A fighting chariot has no cross-board to assist its occupants in bowing; in a war chariot the
[Part V contains forty-eight paragraphs, which may be arranged in ten chapters.
Ch. 1. 1-10, relates to carriages, especially to war chariots, and the use of them with their banners and other things in an expedition. 2. 10, gives the rules in avenging the deaths of a father, brother, and friend. 3. 11, shows the responsibility of ministers and officers generally in maintaining the defence and the cultivation of their country. 4. 12-14, relates to sacrifices,--the sacrificers, their robes, the victims, &c. 5. 15-21, gives rules about avoiding the mention of certain names. 6. 22-27, is on the subject of divination,--of divining, especially, about the days for contemplated undertakings. 7. 28-33, describes the yoking the horses to a ruler's chariot, his taking his seat, and other points. 8. 34-35, is about the strap which the driver banded to parties who wished to mount the carriage. 9. 36, gives three prohibitive rules:--about a visitor's carriage; a woman riding in a carriage; and dogs and horses. 10. 37-48, relates various rules about driving out, for the ruler and people generally. ]
banner is fully displayed; in a chariot of peace it is kept folded round the pole. 2. A recorder should carry with him in his carriage his implements for writing[1]; his, subordinates the (recorded) words (of former covenants and other documents). 3. When there is water in front, the flag with the green bird[2] on it should be displayed. 4. When there is (a cloud of) dust in front, that with the screaming kites. 5. For chariots and horsemen, that with wild geese in flight[3]. 6. For a body of troops, that with a tiger's (skin). 7. For a beast of prey, that with a leopard's (skin). 8. On the march the (banner with the) Red Bird should be in front; that with the Dark Warrior behind; that with the Azure Dragon on the left; and that with the White Tiger on the right; that
[1. The original character denotes what is now used for 'pencils;' but the ordinary pencil had not yet been invented.
2. Some kind of water-bird.
3. A flock of geese maintains a regular order in flying, and was used to symbolise lines of chariots and horsemen. Khung Ying-tâ observes that chariots were used in the field before cavalry, and that the mention of horsemen here looks like the close of the Kin dynasty. One of the earliest instances of riding on horseback is in the Zo Kwan under the year B. C. 517. ]
with the Pointer of the Northern Bushel should be reared aloft (in the centre of the host):--all to excite and direct the fury (of the troops)[1]. 9. There are rules for advancing and retreating; there are the various arrangements on the left and the right, each with its (proper) officer to look after it.
2. 10. With the enemy who has slain his father, one should not live under the same heaven. With the enemy who has slain his brother, one should never have his sword to seek (to deal vengeance). With the enemy who has slain his intimate friend, one should not live in the same state (without seeking to slay him).
3. 11. Many ramparts in the country round and near (a capital) are a disgrace to its high ministers and great officers[2]. Where the wide and open country is greatly neglected and uncultivated, it is a disgrace to the officers (in charge of it).
4. 12. When taking part in a sacrifice, one should not show indifference. 13. When sacrificial robes are worn out, they should be burnt: sacrificial vessels in the same condition should be buried, as should the tortoise-shell and divining stalks, and a victim that has died. 14. All who take part with the ruler in a sacrifice must themselves remove the stands (of their offerings).
[1. 'The Red Bird' was the name of the seven constellations of the southern quarter of the Zodiac; 'the Dark Warrior' embraced those of the northern; 'the Azure Dragon,' those of the eastern; and 'the Tiger,' those of the western. These flags would show the direction of the march, and seem to suggest that all heaven was watching the progress of the expedition.
2. As showing that they had not been able to keep invaders at a distance. ]
5. 15. When the ceremony of wailing is over[1], a son should no longer speak of his deceased father by his name. The rules do not require the avoiding of names merely similar in sound to those not to be spoken. When (a parent had) a double name, the avoiding of either term (used singly) is not required. 16. While his parents (are alive), and a son is able to serve them, he should not utter the names of his grandparents; when he can no longer serve his parents (through their death), he need not avoid the names of his grandparents. 17. Names that would not be spoken (in his own family) need not be avoided (by a great officer) before his ruler; in the great officer's, however, the names proper to be sup pressed by the ruler should not be spoken. 18. In (reading) the books of poetry and history, there need be no avoiding of names, nor in writing compositions. 19. In the ancestral temple there is no such avoiding. 20. Even in his presence, a minister need not avoid the names improper to be spoken by the ruler's wife. The names to be avoided by a wife need not be unspoken outside the door of the harem. The names of parties for whom mourning is worn (only) nine months or five months are not avoided[2]. 21. When one is crossing the boundaries (of a state), he should ask what are its prohibitory laws; when he has fairly entered it, he should ask about its customs; before entering the door (of a house), he should ask about the names to be avoided in it.
[1. After the burial. Till then they would not allow themselves to think of the departed as dead.
2. As, in the first place, for uncles; and in the second, for cousins and grand-uncles. ]
6. 22. External undertakings should be commenced on the odd days, and internal on the even[1]. 23. In all cases of divining about a day, whether by the tortoise-shell or the stalks, if it be beyond the decade, it is said, 'on such and such a distant day,' and if within the decade, 'on such and such a near day. ' For matters of mourning a distant day is preferred; for festive matters a near day[2]. 24. It is said, 'For the day we depend on thee, O great Tortoise-shell, which dost give the regular indications; we depend on you, O great Divining Stalks, which give the regular indications. ' 25. Divination by the shell or the stalks should not go beyond three times. 26. The shell and the stalks should not be both used on the same subject[3]. 27. Divination by the shell is called pû; by the stalks, shih. The two were the methods by which the ancient sage kings made the people believe in seasons and days, revere spiritual beings, stand in awe of their laws and orders; the methods (also) by which they made them determine their perplexities and settle their misgivings. Hence it is said, 'If you doubted, and have consulted the stalks, you need not (any longer) think that you will do wrong. If the day (be clearly indicated), boldly do on it (what you desire to do). '
7. 28. When the ruler's carriage is about to have the horses put to it, the driver should stand before
[1. The odd days are called 'strong,' as belonging to the category of yang; the even days 'weak,' as of the category of yin.
2. 'A distant day' gave a longer period for cherishing the memory of the departed; 'a near day' was desired for festive celebrations, because at them the feeling of I respect' was supposed to predominate.
3. To reverse by the one the indication of the other. ]
them, whip in hand. 29. When they are yoked, he will inspect the linch pin, and report that the carriage is ready. 30.
